80 



The two Pied Puff-birds of Cayenne were amongst the numerous species from that French colony 

 described by Buffon in his ' Histoire Naturelle,' and figured in the accompanying ' Planches 

 Enluminees.' To the figure of the present bird — the smaller of the two — given in the latter 

 work Boddaert in 1783 applied the name Bucco tectus, and Gmelin in 1789 that oi Bucco mela- 

 noleucus. According to the prevalent practice I adopt the former of these forms as having 

 priority, although I have always regarded it as a great mistake that Boddaert's obscure catalogue 

 was ever recognized by naturalists, and his names allowed to supersede others which had so long 

 remained in general use. 



In 1806 Levaillant figured this bird in the second volume of his ' Oiseaux de Paradis ' under 

 the denomination ^^ Petit Tamatia a 'plastron noir!' Levaillant's specimens were from Cayenne 

 and Surinam, whence he received them along with examples of the Larger Pied Puff-bird, 

 B. macrorhynchus. 



Schomburgk does not include Bucco tectus in his list of the adjoining territory of British 

 Guiana : but there is no doubt that it also occurs there, because Mr. H. Whitely has recently 

 obtained examples of it at Bartica grove, on the river Essequibo. 



Lower-Amazonian examples of this species do not differ from those of Guiana and Cayenne. 

 Mr. Wallace and Mr. Layard both obtained it in the forests of Para. Mr. Layard gives us the 

 following note on what he observed of it : — 



" I found three of these birds on some low trees in an abandoned clearing covered with 

 second growth. Though I shot one, the other two remained quietly on the tree and allowed me 

 to load again and fire. Even when wounded, the last one merely flew off, took a circle, and 

 returned. Their stomachs contained insects torn into fragments, I presume, by the curious 

 double hook of the powerful bill." 



Natterer met with Bucco tectus in the vicinity of Manaos, at the mouth of the Eio Negro. 

 He found it " solitary, perched on high dried trees," and describes the bill as black, the naked 

 skin round the eye blackish grey, the iris dark brown, and the feet greyish black. 



The examples of Bucco tectus in my own collection and that of Messrs. Salvin and Godman 

 measure as follows : — 



No. 



Sex. 



Mus. 



Patria. 



Long, tota, 



alse, 



caiidse, 



rostri. 



1. 



inc. 



P.L.S. 



Cayenne. 



6-0 



2-9 



21 



1-0 



2. 



$ 



S.-G. 



Brit. Guiana [Whitely). 



5-7 



2-9 



2-2 



1-1 



